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Environmental Factors Impacting Bioactive Metabolite Accumulation in Brazilian Medicinal Plants
Published in Luzia Valentina Modolo, Mary Ann Foglio, Brazilian Medicinal Plants, 2019
Camila Fernanda de Oliveira Junkes, Franciele Antonia Neis, Fernanda de Costa, Anna Carolina Alves Yendo, Arthur Germano Fett-Neto
The seeded-fruit transcriptome of guarana, Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis (Mart.) Ducke, a stimulant plant native to the central Amazon basin, was performed with a focus in finding Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) related to secondary metabolism. Several key genes related to flavonoid biosynthesis, plant biotic defense pathways and purine alkaloid metabolism were well represented in the analyzes (Angelo et al., 2008).
The Multi-Regulatory Properties of Melatonin in Plants
Published in Akula Ramakrishna, Victoria V. Roshchina, Neurotransmitters in Plants, 2018
Marino B. Arnao, Josefa Hernández-Ruiz
Exogenous melatonin treatment induced the up-regulation of genes related with lycopene biosynthesis, aroma/flavor, cell wall structure, and aquaporins in tomatoes, leading to the conclusion that melatonin promotes postharvest tomato fruit ripening through increased ethylene production and signaling (Sun et al., 2015). In a recent differential proteomic analysis of tomato fruits, 241 proteins involved in several ripening-related pathways, including cell wall metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, carbohydrate, flavonoid biosynthesis, and fatty acid metabolism, were significantly influenced by melatonin. Also, eight proteins related to anthocyanin accumulation during fruit ripening were increased, suggesting that the exogenous application of melatonin positively regulates fruit ripening, while negatively regulating fruit senescence (Sun et al., 2016). Also in tomato plants, melatonin-treated plants (in seeds) have much higher yields as well as higher ascorbic acid, lycopene, and Ca levels, while the content of N, Mg, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn decrease. By contrast, plants irrigated weekly with melatonin-supplemented nutrient solutions showed significant improvements in their contents of soluble solids, ascorbic acid, lycopene, citric acid, and P when compared with control plants that received only a standard solution. Also, the higher sucrose and glucose contents observed indicated that melatonin increased the fruit sugar content. As tomato fruits develop over time, levels of soluble galactose increase, thereby stimulating ethylene production and, subsequently, promoting the ripening. Also, melatonin-treated plants have significantly higher levels of citric acid. The flavor of fruits is optimal when there are high concentrations of both sugars and organic acids. In general, melatonin increased both fruit yield (up to 13%) and quality in tomato fruits (Liu et al., 2016a).
Impact of UV Radiation on the Growth and Pharmaceutical Properties of Medicinal Plants
Published in Azamal Husen, Environmental Pollution and Medicinal Plants, 2022
Deepti, Archana (Joshi) Bachheti, Kiran Chauhan, Rakesh Kumar Bachheti, Azamal Husen
It has been reported that the biochemical and physiological properties of plants are severely affected by UV-B radiation (Miller et al., 1994; Rao et al., 1996; Ambhast and Agrawal, 2003). Photosynthetic apparatus or chromophores absorb the radiation which enters the plants. Approximately 90 per cent of UV-B radiation is taken up by leaves (Robberecht and Caldwell, 1980; Cen and Bornman, 1993; Gonzalez et al., 1996). Proteins, lipids, quinones, nucleic acids, and flavonoids (water-soluble phenolic pigments) are some cell components that are present in leaves and absorb UV-B radiation, which helps in protecting the plants as reactive oxygen species can be produced due to UV-B stress (Jordan, 1996). Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activated by UV-B becomes the cause of the production of reactive oxygen species (Rao et al., 1996). High molecular weight enzymes, such as catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase, and low molecular weight antioxidants like flavonoids, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, and phenols are an integral part of the active defence system which acts as a blueprint to metabolize and acclimatize reactive oxygen species (Cervilla et al., 2007). Polyamines play a major role in ruling the structure and function of photosynthetic apparatus and help in reducing cellular damage of proteins, lipids, and DNA of the plant (Sung et al., 2008; Agrawal et al., 2009). Also, for protection against UV-B stress, polyamines work very well with the help of signals provided by stress messengers, which provide safety against oxidative stress (Kramer et al., 1991; Deutsch et al., 2005). UV-B radiation stimulates the response of the regulatory key enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase which is an important enzyme of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway and is transcriptionally induced by UV treatment (Ravindran et al., 2010).
Differential gene expression in chronically irradiated herbaceous species from the Chernobyl exclusion zone
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2023
Ekaterina M. Shesterikova, Vladimir S. Bondarenko, Polina Yu. Volkova
The expression of the HY5 homolog in D. glomerata populations was significantly increased in the contaminated plots K and M (Table 6), while upregulation of this gene was also recorded in needles of the radiosensitive tree species P. sylvestris (Duarte et al. 2019). The transcription factor HY5 plays an important role in the regulatory processes of the cell. It is a central regulator of photomorphogenesis and promotes the accumulation of flavonoids, inducing the expression of genes of the flavonoid biosynthesis under the influence of visible light and UV-B radiation (Toledo-Ortiz et al. 2014). Flavonoids are secondary metabolites with many phenolic groups, which are capable of eliminating ROS. HY5 promotes the biosynthesis of anthocyanins, which partially utilize hydrogen peroxide and free radicals generated under stress. HY5 is also a key factor for the accumulation of chlorophyll, regulating the expression of genes for chlorophyll biosynthesis (Toledo-Ortiz et al. 2014; Gangappa and Botto 2016). The revealed changes in the expression of the HY5 and CAB1 homologs may indicate the activation of photosynthesis processes in the tissues of irradiated plants.
Activation of Nrf2 signaling pathway by natural and synthetic chalcones: a therapeutic road map for oxidative stress
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2021
Melford Chuka Egbujor, Sarmistha Saha, Brigitta Buttari, Elisabetta Profumo, Luciano Saso
Natural chalcones refer to a group of secondary metabolites widely present in spices, vegetables, tea and other medicinal plants. They are obligate intermediates in flavonoid biosynthesis with significant antioxidant properties [87,88]. Wang et al [89] reported several antioxidant natural chalcones, such as isoliquiritigenin, isobavachalcone, echinatrin, licochalcone A,B,C,D, paratocarpin B. Glypallichalcone, and isoliquiritigenin were found to attenuate atherosclerosis [90], and reduce pancreatic and intestinal damage by mitigating the oxidative stress response in mice [91,92], through Nrf2 signaling [71]. Licochalcones A, B, D, and isobavachalcone exhibited inhibitory effects on NADPH-induced microsomal lipid peroxidation [93,94]. Licochalcone A also increases antioxidant response elements in human hepatoma cells, thereby making it a possibleNrf2 pathway regulator [95]. Liu et al [96] reported that Licochalcone B exhibited stronger Nrf2 activity than TBHQ. Kim and coworkers [97] reported that licochalcone E activates Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway in microglial and neuronal cells. Gao et al [98] reported that sephadex-induced lung injury was attenuated by isobavachalcone through the activation of A20 and Nrf2/HO-1 in rats. The activity of natural chalcone derivatives on Nrf2 pathway activation is represented in Table 2.
A comprehensive review on phytochemistry, pharmacology, and flavonoid biosynthesis of Scutellaria baicalensis
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2018
Zi-Long Wang, Shuang Wang, Yi Kuang, Zhi-Min Hu, Xue Qiao, Min Ye
Several review articles are available on the Scutellaria genus or S. baicalensis (Shang et al. 2010; Zhang et al. 2014; Zhao et al. 2016a; Karimov and Botirov 2017; Cheng et al. 2018). As an increasingly popular herbal medicine, important research progress has been made in recent years. Herein, we comprehensively summarized research literature on phytochemistry, pharmacology, and flavonoid biosynthesis of S. baicalensis. English and Chinese literature published during 1973 to March 2018 was collected from databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Elsevier, SciFinder, Baidu Scholar (Chinese), and CNKI (Chinese). Scutellaria baicalensis, chemical constituents, phytochemistry, biological activities, and biosynthesis were used as the key words.